Time To Go
by Loquatorious
Summary: After the events of Last Christmas, the Doctor starts to see that Clara has changed and knows that it's only a matter of time before she leaves, so he decides to give her the best thank you present he can! Whouffle fluff. Spoilers for Series 8 and Last Christmas.


**A Whouffle Oneshot**

 **AN: This is my first writing a fanfiction so please be gentle, however constructive criticism is accepted. I'm planning on doing more in Doctor Who as time progresses but for now here is some Whouffle for all those who miss the Eleven/Clara pairing from Series 7 Part 2.**

The Doctor lazily flicked a few switches as the TARDIS flew through the time vortex. The engines wheezed and groaned as they powered the ship to its destination. The destination being nowhere really, hopefully someplace that was still a mystery to theDoctor. However, with over two thousand years of exploring behind him, the Doctor presumed that unlikely. But he was not focused on the TARDIS' destination; his mind was contemplating a short brunette with a bossy attitude and a nice personality.

Clara had not been herself lately. Ever since she lost Danny and their last encounter with Missy, she always felt distant. Even when she was given one last goodbye she was still more cynical and cold. The Doctor's brow furrowed as he remembered how much she had cried during those five minutes Danny had givenher. The only other time he had seen her that depressed was back on Trenzalore when he was desperately trying to comfort her about his regeneration.

The Doctor sighed in exasperation. It was always so much easier to talk to her in that body, and he completely understood why. He had assured Clara that he was not her boyfriend, but even a little bit of him was upset by that statement. During his previous regeneration the Doctor's body had been younger and, if he said so himself, more attractive than he thought necessary, but with that young body came a new desire and energy he had not experienced before. It was an alien feeling to him, he found himself falling for more people and more people, mostly women, falling for him. During that time he had kissed many people, Amy, River, Nefertiti, but it was Clara that always stood out to him.

The Doctor had said it himself, she was perfect for him in every way. He could not deny that, no matter how much he tried. At first he thought it was just his curiosity that had propelled his interest in the young woman but as time went on he started to realise that there was something else. Something that he was slightly afraid of. He knew that one day him and Clara would have to say goodbye so having a crush on her would only make that day worse, but he could not get rid of his love for only broke his heart more when she started dating Danny.

The Doctor, prior to Danny and Clara's beliefs, had nothing against Danny. If anything he had begun to admire the young man before he died. If only he had not been a soldier, and if only the Doctor had not had his stupid prejudices. He also held a little disappointment as well since, before he knew Clara fancied Danny, he thought that Clara had a crush on a certain teacher that looked a lot like a previous version of himself. For that one moment he thought that any interest Clara had in that Doctor was still alive, but after he found out about Danny, he was crushed. If the other bodies he had worn could still speak, his previous one would be shedding silent tears.

But that same Doctor would probably had been a lot more accepting to Danny, now that he thought about it. Even he felt a little bit of pride and sorrow as he watched Danny flying into the dark clouds, setting then alight with his cyber comrades. It was then that the Doctor was reminded of Rory or Mickey, two men that had both proven themselves as companion material many times, and many more more who had proved their metal. Brigadier...the hostess...Harriet Jones...just to name a few. That only made the Doctor's ignorance of Danny sting even more. Danny was a good man, the Doctor was the idiot and Clara...she was the one that payed the price.

At that moment the brunette in question came trudging up on the staircases and onto the main platform. The Doctor noticed her slightly puffed up eyes that he was certain had shed tears just minutes before. Clara had recently begun uncontrollably crying and the Doctor could do nothing about it but watch. It broke the Doctor's heart and made him sick to his core that he could not be the Doctor for her.

"You okay?" the Doctor asked without looking up from the console he was working on.

"Yeah, yeah," Clara replied instantly. The Doctor could easily notice unenthusiastic that comment was. That was not the Clara he knew.

Just moments later the TARDIS landed with a groaning noise that filled the air.

"We've arrived," he said.

"Good," Clara responded in that same tired tone.

"So I'll see you next Wednesday, then?"

Clara simply looked at the floor solemnly.

"Okay," she sighed.

"Or not," the Doctor replied. Clara looked at him questioningly.

"What do you mean 'or not'?" she asked. The Doctor sighed before continuing.

"You're thinking of stopping aren't you?" he replied. She just looked away sadly as he began to walk over to her, "Honestly I don't blame you. If it weren't for me then Danny would probably still-"

"I'm not upset about Danny," she said before he could continue. This was a surprise. The Doctor definitely was not expecting this. If she was not crying about Danny then...

"What are you upset about then?" he asked.

"...I-I can't say," she replied quietly.

"Of course you can. You can tell me anything, Clara. Except for my surprise party, if you've planned one. Actually a surprise party would be nice-"

"It's about you," she said loudly so that he would stop his rambling. This only confused the Doctor even more.

"Me?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes...Danny, he was brilliant," she started, "I loved him, I really did, but he just wasn't..."

"Wasn't me," the Doctor finished. He looked at her as she looked back at him, her eyes fill with sadness and guilt.

"Clara, you know this," he said as pointed his finger to himself and her, "Cannot work."

"I know," she said solemnly, "It's just that with you, or the previous you, I felt so...comfortable. I really felt just safe and...warm. I felt that a little with Danny, but..."

She sighed as she turned away from him and started towards the door. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.

"So next Wednesday then?" she asked rhetorically.

"I'll see you then," the Doctor replied. With that Clara closed the door and walked away from the big blue box outside her apartment. She only looked back once it started to disappear, tears glazing her vision. She felt like such an idiot.

The Doctor sighed and leaned back against the console. He felt like such an idiot. Way to go about comforting her. She was definitely feeling better now. The Doctor sat on one of his chairs and thought for a moment. Clara was still in love with his previous body. Great. What should he do about it? He couldn't let her be depressed for the rest of her life. He could find someone new...no, that would not work. She would still remember him and the times they had; no one could compete with a memory. Martha knew that all too well.

The Doctor scratched the back of his hair as he thought of what to do. He definitely thought that his previous body had better hair than this one. The Doctor chuckled slightly as he remembered when Amy once called it an emo flap. Now his hair was just-

Hair...HAIR! That's it! The Doctor immediately stood up and pressed random coordinates into the TARDIS console. He then proceeded to run into one of the hallways and into his expansive wardrobe. He had some searching to do.

* * *

The early morning sun shined through Clara's blinds and onto her agitated face as she arose from her slumber. She moaned in dismay as she looked at her clock. It read a modest 9:31. She sighed as she sat up and donned her slippers. It had been a week since she had last seen the Doctor which meant that once again it was time for his weekly visit.

Her mind filled with dismay at he thought of seeing the Doctor after everything she had said to him. Why did she have to tell him she still fancied him? Or the other him? Which was actually him. She groaned in exasperation. This whole regeneration thing made referring to the Doctor really difficult. She wanted to be with the Doctor, she did. She did love him to bits, but she wanted more than anything to see her daft old Doctor, the mad man who flew around in his snog box, her boyfriend, her best friend.

This Doctor was definitely the latter, but Clara often found that a best friend just was not enough. Danny filled his role as a boyfriend but only just. She wanted her Doctor back. The Doctor with his bow tie and sad puppy eyes and enormous chin. Clara smiled as she remembered the times she had with her Doctor. The time he guarded her house; the time he refused to put her in danger; the time when they had pretended to be husband and wife, that was a favourite of hers; the time he save her life and the time she saved his...a lot.

In truth, she saw a lot of the Doctor in Danny. A cheeky ex-war hero with a wise insight in the world's issues and a heart wrenching sense of justice and guilt. In the end he sacrificed himself to save her and an entire planet, just like her silly old Doctor did. But this time she could not save him like she did the Doctor. Speaking of whom, she knew the Doctor had tried his best to accept Danny, but he could not. Danny was a soldier and, since she had seen all of his lives, she knew that anyone who had experienced soldiers and war like the Doctor had had the best reasons in the universe to hold prejudices and grudges. Danny never knew what the Doctor went through during the Time War or when he thought he had destroyed Gallifrey, if he did then Danny would definitely have been a lot more lenient towards the 'General.'

Just then Clara heard the TARDIS materialise inside her apartment. She rushed down the hallway and into her bedroom as the blue telephone box appeared from thin air. She grabbed some shoes and walked up to the TARDIS doors. She opened them with a click of her fingers and stepped inside to see the Doctor leaning on the TARDIS console with a mischievous smile on his face, a smile which was not unnoticed by Clara.

"OK, what have you been up to?" she asked incredulously.

"I've got a surprise for you," the Doctor answered enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah? What's that then?"

"Oh you'll see, now go pack all your belongings," he instructed. Clara responded with an inquisitive expression.

"What do you mean 'all my belongings'?" she asked, alarm sprinkled her tone of voice.

"You're moving out. In one hour this flat will no longer be your intellectual property," the Doctor explained.

"What?" Clara exclaimed.

"I know! Exciting, isn't it? Now hurry up," he continued as he gently pushed her to the door before pulling out a metal sphere with a small lens on one side, "This will make the packing process go faster. This is a pocket universe inside a ball. Just point it at whatever you want to contain and press the button. Now hurry!"

And with that he shut the door leaving a dazed Clara standing outside the TARDIS. A few minutes later she did as the Doctor instructed and used the pokeball-esque machine to pack as many objects as she could into the pocket universe. Once she was finished her apartment was completely bare. She walked triumphantly into the TARDIS holding the small ball in her hand.

"You know," Clara said absentmindedly as she strolled around the console, "This is really practical."

"That's Time Lord science for you," the Doctor said smugly.

"You mean amateur Time Lord science," she replied as she raised an eyebrow.

"Ha ha," the Doctor laughed humourlessly, "You got everything?"

"Just about," she said. It was the Doctor's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I mean yes."

"Good. Clara Oswald, say goodbye to this crummy old apartment and hello..." the Docor paused for dramatic effect as he pulled the materialisation lever, "...to your new home."

The huge discs on top of the time rotor turned as the TARDIS hummed into life. The entire ship groaned as it pushed past the barriers of space and time.

"My new home, huh?" Clara asked nonchalantly, "It's not aboard this ship is it?"

"No, of course it isn't," the Doctor replied immediately, "That honour resides with me and me only."

"So where am I going to live?" Clara asked. The Doctor gave her a knowing smile as the TARDIS materialised.

"Take a look," he said as he clicked the doors open.

Clara looked outside and was almost blinded by the light that pouring into the console room. Once her eyes adjusted she could see a garden decorated with bunches of flowers and an almost cloudless sunny sky. She stepped outside into the back garden of a small cottage sitting in the middle of a couple of grassy meadows. The expansive garden had freshly cut grass and a small tennis court at the bottom. It was surrounded by small trees that blossomed in the morning sun.

She turned to the Doctor who was leaning against the TARDIS doorframe.

"I figured, after everything we've been through, a quiet little cottage would be just what the doctor ordered...literally," he said with a smile.

Clara smiled, ran up to him and almost tackled him with a hug. For once the Doctor reciprocated the hug, knowing all too well that this may be their last. Once the hug ended she gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"How am I going to afford this though?" Clara asked as she looked back to the cottage.

"Being a time traveller has its perks," the Doctor replied as he pulled out a small envelope and gave it to her. Clara accepted the letter and opened it. Inside were the house keys and a small cheque. She examined the cheque and who it was addressed to:

Clara Oswald

That was her, no doubt about that. Clara then looked at the amount that she was due and nearly fainted on the spot.

"How much?" Clara exclaimed as he held the cheque that suddenly felt a lot heavier.

"I didn't know how much you needed so I thought 'what the hell'! Is it enough?" the Doctor asked.

Clara just looked at him with a face that screamed 'are you serious?'

"Enough?" she exclaimed, "I'm set for life! How did you get this kind of money?"

"Alimony money from Queen Elizabeth the First," the Doctor said, "Which I then used to make a long term investment."

Clara simply gasped as she looked at the amount on the paper slip. She never knew that many zeros existed when it came to money.

"It's enough for a quiet life, don't you think?" the Doctor said rhetorically.

Clara gave him a grateful smile.

"What was this for?" she asked as she hugged him again.

"Well, you've done so much for me," he said, "This time I wanted to get it right."

"Thank you," she said, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

"It's the least I could do," the Doctor replied.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Of course you will," the Doctor replied with a smile,"I might make a few house calls every once in a while. Just keep your eye out. It might be sooner than you expect."

And with that they shared one last hug before the Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS. She watched longingly as the blue box she had considered the only definite in her life disappeared into thin air. Even after the TARDIS was gone she was left to watch the swaying treetops of the distant forest. She could definitely get used to this view. She was so invested in the scenery that she failed to notice the back door to her new home slide open and a tall figure merrily stroll out. He stopped a few metres behind her and smiled.

"Hello again," he said loud enough for her to hear him.

Every thought in Clara's brain shattered as she heard that voice. The only thing going through her head was the man that she knew so well; the man that voice belonged to. She slowly turned around to see what she thought was impossible: her Doctor, wearing his bow tie and purple tweed coat and holding a Jammy Dodger, standing a few metres in front of her. He looked just like he did the last time she saw him, just before his regeneration. His smile lit up his face, his eyes warmed her insides.

Clara was skeptical though. All she could do was to shake her head to test if she was hallucinating. When she realised that he was not a figment of her imagination, Clara began to walk towards him slowly as she started to get a closer look at him. She reached out a hand touch him to confirm that he was not hologram or trick. She felt the palm of her hand contact his torso and almost screamed. She looked up at his face that now harboured a more concerned expression. She reached the same hand to cup his cheek and stroke it with her hand.

Clara was only just holding back tears as he took one of his hands and held hers to his cheek. He smiled lovingly at her as she looked into his eyes.

"It's me, Clara," he said in whisper that only she could hear, "I'm real. I promise."

Clara shook her head in disbelief and withdrew her hand, but the Doctor, or Doctor lookalike, clasped it in his before she could run away.

"And I'll prove it," he said, "My first words to you, when I appeared outside the Maitlands' house that day, the first day you met me. My first words..."

He trailed off as he leaned over to her ear and whispered as light as possible:

"Clara. Clara Oswin Oswald. Do you remember me?"

He then leaned away to look at her face which now had tears trailing down it.

"Because I remember you, Clara. I remember everything. I am the Doctor. I'm your Doctor. With one difference."

With that he placed her hand that he had concealed in his over his hearts.

"This body, this version of me...I have a human lifespan...and as you know, I can't regenerate. One life left."

He looked at her and she noticed a question lingering in his eyes.

"Can I spend the rest of it with you?"

She looked deep into his blue eyes and saw...him. She could no longer deny it. This was her Doctor. And from what he had just told her he is here to stay for as long as she lived. She smiled wider than she ever smiled before and hugged her Doctor with all her might. He reciprocated the hug with both of his lanky yet strong arms. Clara poured all of her grief and pain and guilt into that hug as she snuggled further into his chest, instantly relishing how little he had changed. The Doctor kissed her forehead as he stroked her shoulder.

After a while they separated and stared into each other's eyes some more. They remained like that for a while before Clara noticed that they were both leaning into each other. She made no effort to stop as she closed her eyes and awaited the inevitable. Their lips met in a blaze of passion. Each of their nerves began to alight with fireworks and explosions of pleasure as their lips moved in unison with the other's. The Jammy Dodger was forgotten and landed with a small thud on the soft lawn. The Doctor wrapped his now free hand around her waist as Clara kept her arms around his neck never wanting to let go in case this perfect fantasy were to disappear.

Luckily for Clara, it never did.

* * *

Back aboard the TARDIS, the lonely Scotsman sighed with relief and smiled for the first time in far too long. He had no idea how he had pulled that one off, and quite frankly he was still a hazy when it came to how long he was searching through his wardrobe for the right coat.

The Doctor remembered the relief that poured through his body when he found the brown, furry coat that he had brooded in for so long after the Ponds had left him and in those thick furs held the answer to his prayers: a single loose hair. Perfect! A quick trip to the New New New New Earth cloning facility that Novice Hame had pioneered, to find new medicines for the diseases of humanity, and the Doctor had himself a living breathing clone of his younger body. Perfect in every way for Clara to settle down with...well, almost.

The Doctor had made sure to speed up the clone's ageing processes by 900% in order to simulate human ageing and due to this clone being his final life the Doctor did not have to worry about regeneration occurring at the end of the clone's shortened lifespan. That still meant that the Doctor had to drop the clone off somewhere for 30 years in order to achieve the appearance of his former self. Luckily Novice Hame offered to take care of the clone whilst it grew and 30 years was definitely enough time for the clone to absurd and assimilate the Doctor's brain functions an memories, which the Doctor had kindly provided a copy of for the wait.

Nothing could prepare the old intergalactic scot for when he had to pick up the clone- no, the Doctor- after the 30 years, which for the Doctor traveling in the TARDIS was only a few minutes. The Doctor simply strolled out of the blue wooden doors and came face to face with a ghost of his past. It was exactly the same face that he used to be greeted by every morning on the TARDIS and yet it had never looked more alien than when another man was wearing it. The other Doctor was equally as surprised.

"I got old?" he mock groaned, "I got grey!"

"If it's any consolation you got less annoying," the Doctor replied with a sly grin.

"Yeah, well you got less..." he paused as he though of a comeback and then sighed, "Little Dalek."

This made the Doctor smile and yet mentally grimace at his reply. True it was no comeback but the Doctor doubted that any other response would have made his blood run cold quite like that one.

The rest of the day went swimmingly, as the younger Doctor put it. The Doctor introduced him to the house and sent him on a grocery errand whilst also supplying the young Doctor's wardrobe with his old attire, such as his tweed jackets, suspenders and a box of many bow ties. After everything was set up he told the young Doctor about the appointment at the local real estate to officially claim the house, explained how the TV worked and said his goodbyes.

"Treat her well, Doctor," the Doctor said as he shook hands with his younger self who beamed back at him.

"You know I will, Doctor," he replied, "Safe travels and good luck, since I won't be seeing for a long time."

"Oh, you never know..."

"No, we never do. So, until the next time, Doctor."

"Likewise...Doctor."

And with that the morning's plans were sprung into action and the rest was history.

The Doctor sat on one of the chairs surrounding the console and sighed heavily as he was consumed in thought. It was a bittersweet feeling that he only got when his companions left on a happy ending, even if it was happy it was still an ending. And he hated endings. But, as the Doctor always reminder himself, when it's time to go it should be embraced. Clara would be fine. She's in safe hands. He of all people should know that.


End file.
